By the use of a small turning plow two furrows are thrown up in the form of a back furrow or ridge over the line of the furrow first opened, in the method employed in preparing land for the reception of sweet-potato sets. After the ridges are thrown up they are knocked off either by the weeder or by using a board scraper fastened to the back teeth of an ordinary Planet Jr. or Iron Age cultivator. The planter follows on the ridges, drop ping the seed at intervals of about eight inches, two seeds in a place, and placing the seeds deep enough to be on the same plane as the general level of the surface of the field. The ridges are brushed down to about two inches in height and the seeds are planted about two inches deep. On soils that are likely to be grassy or weedy seeds are dropped somewhat farther apart, about twelve inches, and two or three seeds in a hill. If the seeding is to be done by hand, the common practice is to employ a wheel-marker with pegs set on the rim of the wheel large enough to make marks in which the seeds can be dropped at proper intervals and depths. Covering is then accom plished by treading on the ridge or scraping the earth in with the foot.
Cultivation should begin as soon as planting is com pleted, so as to keep weeds in subjec tion. The first cultivation can be done with a narrow-toothed cultiva tor run comparatively close to the vines, so as to kill as much grass as possible. Some growers employ a weeder and run crosswise of the rows after using the cultivator between the rows.
There is objection to this, however, as the young plants are brittle and easily broken, and the weeder frequently does considerable damage. As the season advances and the plants gain size, broader teeth are used on the culti vator and a center tooth of some size is employed to open a water furrow between the plants so as to leave a ridge two to three inches high of loose, friable soil. This is important, for as soon as the plants have shed their bloom the forming nut is thrust into the loose soil for further de velopment. The importance of keep ing the soil well up around the plant, as well as loose and friable, is apparent.. It is also important that the cultivation should not be close enough to the plant to disturb the roots or the forming nuts. In ordi nary practice the plants are not "laid by" until about the last of July or the first of August through the Virginia peanut region.
late years, since the value of peanut hay has become more generally recognized, the har vesting of the crop has been pushed forward. The earlier the hay is cut the more valuable it is. If gather ing is delayed until frost touches the plants, a large proportion of the leaves are lost and the value of the hay is very materially lessened. It is
the practice to begin harvesting sufficiently in advance of the normal date for killing frost to have the crop entirely in shock before such frost occurs. The common method is to throw a furrow away from the row of plants on either side. Alen follow with forks and lift the plants out of the ground, gently shake the sand from them, and throw them into heaps, placing five or six rows in one general windrow. Another sluad follows the diggers and places the plants in shocks. (Fig. 739.) For these, poles seven or eight feet in height, free from projecting limbs or knots, and sharpened at both ends, are provided. One end of the pole is thrust into the ground eighteen inches or two feet to hold it firmly in position. Around the base of this pole a few cross-pieces are laid on the ground to keep the vines from coming in direct contact with the soil. In some instances a whorl of branches is left on the poles to ac complish this end. In other instances narrow strips of boards are nailed at right angles to one another across the pole to support the vines. The plants with the nuts attached, which are thrown into windrows by the diggers, are taken up, gently shaken and placed with the nuts all inside the heap around the pole, making a nar row, upright shock about two and one-half feet in diameter at the base, and of nearly uniform diameter until near the top, where it is quickly drawn in and capped with grass or hay. These shocks are about five feet in height. The nuts are allowed to remain in shocks until thoroughly cured or until they are ready for picking. In some instances the shocks are lifted and carried to suit able buildings or sheds where the picking is done, but in the majority of cases the picking is done in the field, this work being accomplished largely by hand (Fig. 740), although in the last few years a number of satisfactory machines have been invented for this purpose.
The nuts are thoroughly cured, and are then placed in sacks and sent to a cleaning factory, where they are put through a number of processes for removing all adhering sand or dirt, blanching the shells of those which are slightly discolored, and polishing those of high grade which are to go on the market for roasting purposes.
Yield.
The average yield of peanuts in Virginia and North Carolina is about forty bushels per acre. Some growers make an average yield of one hun dred bushels per acre with select types of large nuts, and yields of one hundred to one hun dred and forty bushels per acre are reported for the Spanish nuts.